Brewer’s Blackbird is one of my favorite local species, with their subtle coloring and tame nature, but I have yet to get a decent photo of one. I am usually foiled by the challenge of photographing a black bird in a bright background. This individual insisted on hiding behind a single pine needle.

Here we see a male Brewer’s feeding by inserting his bill into the ground vegetation, then opening his bill to pry the vegetation apart in hopes of finding a food item. This is a common feeding method used by European Starlings, but I hadn’t witnessed it in Brewer’s Blackbird before.